Deadite's 50 Cool Movies for Cool People

I'd definitely agree with you on that. I think one of Persona's central themes is the manner in which people hide parts of themselves from those around them, so I guess it would make sense that the characters remain somewhat ambiguous. I'm fairly certain that Alma and Elisabet are the same person, but I don't think I'll ever know which is true: that Alma represents Elisabet's inner self or that Elisabet represents Alma's inner self.

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

42. Waking Life



A lucid dream, a fascinating philosophical contemplation of reality and self, a marvelous animated journey into the unknown, Waking Life pulls you in with its dynamic artistry but keeps you there with its musings - sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing, always thought-provoking - on life, the universe, and everything.

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

That's a valid interpretation. Another interpretation is that they may be two individuals, but are the same on a deeper psychological level. Perhaps the film implies that all personas are masks covering an essential oneness of human beings in general, and those two are a particular example of that. I've also read of an interpretation that Elizabeth represents Bergman's silent God.

The greatness of Persona for me is that it doesn't clearly distinguish between what's meant to reflect "real life" and what's meant to be purely symbolic...

41. Dark City



Before The Matrix and Inception, there was Dark City, a dazzlingly imaginative mind-bender combining elements of noir, sci-fi, and German Expression. Following the bewildered and hunted amnesiac John Murdoch, DC is a fantastic visual feast that creates an other-worldly yet familiar setting to great effect, quickly immersing the viewer in its vaguely 40s-era style while raising questions of just how real all of it actually is.

Nice x2

Haven't seen either in a long while, though I feel their impact on me nonetheless

40. Jacob's Ladder

Tim Robbins is superb as a Vietnam vet suffering from PTSD... or is it something more? Plagued by horrifying hallucinations and entangled in an apparent government conspiracy, he and a few other vets question what seems to be a cover-up. As they begin to die, he descends ever deeper into a paranoid hell where he can't be sure who to trust or even what's real. I saw this film way back before these types of psychological horror head-trips like The Jacket became common, so it was very fresh and disturbing for me. The film appears to have had quite an influence, and fans of moody and bizarre Silent Hill-type horror will probably enjoy it most. Despite all the similar movies I've seen since, Jacob's Ladder remains a personal favorite with terrifying imagery that still gets under my skin today.

Haven't seen your last 4 but I'll keep a look out for them.

39. Sin City



Like noir on crack, Sin City is a wild and gleefully unrealistic ride through a bizarre and savage landscape populated by hookers with uzis and swords, assassins and mercenaries, insane politicians, a baby-faced serial killer, Marv the human tank, and much more. Sin City isn't gritty; it kicks gritty's teeth out and then forces it to drink gasoline.

The entire cast is pretty much perfect for what this material is, which is determinedly over-the-top and gruesomely violent, but in particular Mickey Rourke is absolutely riveting as the honourable brute Marv. He completely nailed the character and brought him to life from the comic in a way that actually bettered it.

SC's not for everyone, certainly, but it's probably the most faithful adaptation of a comic ever. As a fan of Frank Miller's work, I was giddy throughout.

Love Sin City. Noir on crack is a perfect description.

I'm in complete agreement about the cast and some of my faves are in there: Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy, Benicio del Toro, Mickey Rouke, Bruce Willis and I could go on. Most definitely a cool movie for cool people.

Considering the cast (c'mon, how often is a film with a cast with that many stars actually good?) I was surprsed that I enjoyed Sin City. I've not seen it since '05, but I wouldn't mind watching it again.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Love Sin City

38. The Big Lebowski

Extremely quotable, dense with layers of funny, TBL is one of the best Coen brothers films and one of the best comedies ever. I've seen it quite a few times yet somehow every time I re-watched it, it pulls me in and cracks me up all over again.

*foul language*

The Duuuuude!

Great choice... I had Lebowski at 24th in my top 100...

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Huge thumbs up for Lebowski.

Not just one of the best comedies ever made, THE best comedy.

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Great film, great choice. #59 on the HK 100.

I don't really care one way or the other for Jeff Bridges, but he's superb in this.

very good list!

still have to see this one...it shows up on everyones list

Sooo long ago...very imaginative movie

37. Jackie Brown

Tarantino's most mature work, Jackie Brown is part crime thriller and part character study. I love the slow-burn pace, the performances such as De Niro's schlubby ex-con and Robert Forster's shrewd but kind bail bondsman, the wonderful soundtrack, the unexpected moments of violence that are so much more powerful because they're sudden and brief.

While not as show-offish as Tarantino's other work, JB is expertly directed with many flourishes accentuating characters instead of upstaging and undermining them so we aren't distracted from what's happening between them by Tarantino's direction. I especially enjoyed the very understated developing romance between Forster's character & Grier's.

In my book, JB's a quiet masterpiece about over-the-hill desperate people that will stand the test of time to eventually outshine most of Tarantino's more flamboyant and self-consciously cool movies.